This is the same handmade food by Kayte of Love Forever that I previously posted about, only this time she added a handmade plate, bowl, and vintage style mug. I think it makes it all come together perfectly.

all the new romantic and Victorian-styled home items at Urban Outfitters (I try to refrain from posting about major chains on here too often). Everything goes perfectly with our new home design plans, which will be French Victorian gothic themed with a modern twist.

Today's artist spotlight: Swedish painter & fashion extraordinaire Johanna Ost. I have been following Johanna's art and photographs through her online journal for quite some time and continuously find her to be so very inspiring. Many people know her online because of her fabulous wardrobe project, in which she takes one garment from her wardrobe each day, builds a great outfit around it, and photographs herself (I find this one to be amazing!). She also paints gorgeous watercolor and acrylic works, often inspired by mythology, fairytales, folklore, horror, dreams, the 18th century, and fashion.

8.30.2007

I must admit, I am a macaroon (also spelled "macaron") fanatic. To me, the perfect afternoon entails sweet wine or coffee, my husband or a good friend, and a plate of beautiful macaroons at our neighborhood patisserie. The following recipe for classic French chocolate macaroons comes from Lori Longbotham's Luscious Chocolate Desserts. Bake them and eat them in a bubble bath with beautiful music playing.

Directions:Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.To make macaroons: Pulse the almonds with 1 cup of the confectioners sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add the cocoa powder and the remaining 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar and pulse until well-blended. Beat the egg whites with the salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl. just until the whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add the granulated sugar and beat just until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. With a whisk or rubber spatula, gently fold in the almond mixture. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" plain tip. Pipe out 1" diameter rounds about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the tops are cracked and appear dry but the macaroons are still slightly soft to the touch. Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to barely dampened kitchen towels and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel off the macaroons and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

To make filling: Bring the cream to just a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Add the chocolate and butter and whisk until smooth. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm enough to hold its shape when spread. If desired, transfer filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2" plain tip. Pipe the filling, or spread it with a table knife, generously on the flat side of half the macaroons. Top with the remaining macaroons, flat side down, pressing together gently to form sandwiches.

8.28.2007

Autumn is approaching quickly and I am actually quite happy about it. I love wearing scarves & not-so-heavy coats and admiring all the beautiful colors everywhere. Here are some lovely things that make me think of the fall...

Today LA's Apartment Therapy featured the incredibly talented Sharilyn Wright's (of Lovely Design) ravishing Vancouver studio space. I had a seen a picture of it awhile back and loved it, so it's quite nice to be able to see more views. She does quite an amazing job of working with such a tiny space (a mere 180 square feet!).

Amy Blea of Seed Clothing creates lovely things to wear. All of her dresses are custom-made to fit the buyer and are built up of elegant feminine fabrics. You can check out Seed Clothing's main website here.

Tilly Bloom is a Scottish lass who creates one-of-a-kind jewelry in Brooklyn. The inspiration for her pieces comes from everything from Victorian wallpaper to film and literature. Each item she makes is quite unique and beautiful. She also has a main website, as well as an inspiring blog.

8.25.2007

So, here it is, my first beautiful food post on the site. This recipe comes from the ever-addicting marthastewart.com and features my favorite fruit of the late summer: peaches. I'm also quite a basil fanatic (pesto is by far one of my favorite foods), and the combination of the two sounds so delicious. And so, on we go!

Directions:1. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add basil; cook until basil turns bright green, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice-water bath until cool, about 1 minute. Drain; pat dry.2. Stir together sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved. Add basil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let cool completely.3. Puree the basil mixture in a blender, about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in honeydew juice. Refrigerate, covered, 8 to 12 hours.4. Using the back of a spoon, press basil mixture through a fine sieve into a nonreactive bowl. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Transfer to an 8-inch square nonreactive baking dish, and place in freezer. Rake with a fork every 30 minutes until mixture is completely frozen, about 3 hours.5. Arrange peaches on 6 chilled serving plates, dividing evenly; top with granita. Garnish with basil sprigs and flowers.

I recently received an email from Jennifer of Seattle-based Turtle Papers informing me of her new Etsy shop. I think her stationery designs (along with her clothing) are quite pretty and have a certain uniqueness to them, with beautiful text and super-cute images of animals, origami, and cupcakes. I'd love to purchase the lot of them and send them off to all my far-away friends.

I was feeling inspired tonight by one of my favorite color combinations, pink and grey, so I decided to put out the September layout a wee bit early. So, here you go! Not very Autumny, but refreshing nonetheless.

I just wanted to take the time tonight to say thank you so very much for following this website. I have gained an enormous amount of fabulous viewers in the short time I have been doing Design is Mine, and for that I am quite thankful. I love all the feedback and mentioning around the web- it all makes me feel so wonderful.

I have many plans for this site in the near future, including (but not limited to):

Interior design spotlights with folks who have gorgeous & stylish living spaces.

Artist interviews.

Recipes for beautiful food.

How-to articles (based on fashion, interior design, and art themes).

A massive shopping page.

and much more! So keep on checking for updates, sending the emails, and being your terrific selves!

1. Take a trip to Ikea (or if you don't live near one, browse through their website) and purchase inexpensive decorative items that are all one color. Display them on a shelf, a tabletop, or in a glass cabinet.2. Keep a notebook with you at all times (I love this one). Constantly jot down home decorating ideas, personal style plans, things you love, goals, advice for yourself, wishlists, etc. 3. Keep folders on your computer to look through for inspiration. I use flickr as my main source of images, and I save everything from pictures of beautiful food and table settings to people I find to be extremely fashionable and gorgeous handmade art. There is so much inspiration out there!4. Design "business" cards for yourself and print them out on card stock (Good on Paper has some beautiful design ideas). These can actually be for your own business (i.e. graphic designer, crafter extraordinaire, baker) or to hand out for your website, zine, or just when you meet new people (list a few great things about yourself with contact info and socialize!) If you don't feel like you can design a great card, there are always Moo Cards, which print out adorable little cards with photographs on them for $20 for 100. 5. Take a ton of photographs. Go on adventures around your city and find little hidden nooks, lettering, brightly-colored signs & flowers, and just things you find to be beautiful. Print out the photos and display them around your home or paste them in your journal.6. Buy a few new outfits that you can wear a ton of different ways. For me, the perfect things to mix around are scarves (ones that can be used on the head, around the waist, AND around the neck), a simple black dress (I love this slideshow), leggings, a pretty little slip, bright stockings, and a couple different colored camisoles. Always buy things that make you feel confident.7. Save up money to go to a fabulous place. In the United States, New York and San Francisco are my favorite vacation spots for window shopping, delicious food eating, and taking amazing walks (they are meccas of design), but there are inspiring places all over the world. If you can't afford to take a vacation anytime in the near future, find the simple good things in your town: visit a great bakery, eat scrumptious chocolates with a friend, lay on the grass in a park, have coffee in a friendly cafe, spend time in a bookstore, etc. 8. Paint your walls a new color. Doing this can totally change the mood and feeling of your surroundings. Of course, only choose a color you would love to see everyday (if you live in a rental apartment and are not allowed to paint your walls, this article may help). 9. Learn to bake something beautiful. Some inspiration: Cupcake Bakeshop, The Vibrant Table, Delicious Days, 101 Cookbooks, and Vegan Yum Yum. I find beautiful food to be design perfection.10. Make your own list of how you personally would like to redesign your life. Write in big bold writing on brightly-colored paper and hang it on your fridge.

8.20.2007

I never thought I'd see fashionable and modern designed sporks, but low-and-behold, here they are from Scandinavian designer Joachim Nordwall, found at Light My Fire. Perfect for camping, picnics, lunchboxes, etc. I'm loving them.

Japan-based Pict has been one of my favorite collections of illustrators for quite a long while. There is so much talent and eye candy on the website that it's almost overwhelming. I was planning on writing about each of my favorite illustrators featured on the site individually and spread over time, but there are just too many, so here are just some ones I love.

Beautiful bird silhouette wall tiles made by little flower designs and available at the wonderful Modishoppe. They are 100 percent handmade and a limited-edition run (only 100 of the two colors will be made). I always love Linda's creations.

8.18.2007

I have seen these hand hooks by Harry Allen all over the place (Velocity, Unica Home, Elsewares, etc.), but have never posted them. I really do think they are beautiful and unique, but I'm not so sure I would want one poking out of my wall.

8.17.2007

I fully admit it- I'm an absolute sucker for the color pink. You name it: dresses, dishware, patterns, modern furniture... even 60's cars and cupcake frosting. Call me terribly girly, but pink is by far my favorite color, especially when it comes to household items.

I think I am going to be changing the "Illustrator Spotlight" posts on this site to "Artist Spotlight," so that I can feature more talented people in other fields of art.

It is always quite nice to know incredibly creative people personally, and I have always been a huge fan of a particular friend's work, Mister Austin Sellers. Austin is a a wonderful graphic designer based here in Portland who creates a number of designs for posters, album covers, and websites. He designed our beautiful art deco wedding invitations, and for that I am eternally grateful.

As Austin claims, he has, "a self-made degree of being awesome, which has required hard work & expertise in the field of ...being awesome." Well said, my friend.

I have always thought of Keds as rather boring and unattractive- my grandmother used to live in them, in all different colors, which I think is why I have thought of them as shoes for much older women. However, Nylon recently featured their new designs by Eleanor Grosch and Nanette Lepore and I really love them.

8.14.2007

This is my first time ever doing this, but it seems like the easiest way to do my catching up after the vacation (plus there has been way too much good stuff to narrow it all down to a couple of posts!)

8.13.2007

I love this handmade jewelry by Danielle Maveal of Precious Pups. She is a talented goldsmither from Brooklyn who creates a ton of playful and sweet accessories, and also runs a fabulous shopping weblog with lots of eye candy.

I am back from our lovely family vacation to Maui. I got lots of sun, drank a lot of tropical cocktails, and had a whole lot of fun. Photographs will be here shortly.

There is something extremely exciting about coming home to the new Ikea catalog resting underneath our mail slot. My husband constantly makes fun of the way I refer to it as my "pornography" and curl up into bed with it. As usual, tons of beautiful items this year. I can't wait to go to the new Portland store and see it all in person.

Today's illustrator spotlight: Johnny Yanok. Johnny is an extremely talented artist who creates art in my favorite style, obviously inspired by the fabulous artwork of the sixties and seventies. He draws absolutely adorable characters that bring a huge smile to my face. His clients have included Cartoon Network, American Greetings, and Learning Curve.